Second Chance
by LandminesLandslides
Summary: Stevie has a second chance. How will she use it? Please R&R. And yes, I am writing this at the same time as I'm writing another fic. lol.
1. Prologue: Alive

Second Chance

By LandminesLandslides

Prologue: Alive

(Stevie's POV)

My vision is hazy, but I can only imagine that this is the afterlife. I wonder if I'm going to be punished. I suppose what I did was technically wrong. I mean, I never really considered that people might have been hurt if I'd done what I was planning. I still remember the last moments. Being frozen by Alex, who I thought was my friend, being knocked over by Max and shattered into pieces. Then it pretty much stops there. Well, here I am so I'd better brace myself for my punishment. My vision is starting to clear up now. Wait a minute? What's this? This doesn't make any sense at all. The afterlife looks a lot like the power transfer chamber, where I originally died. Wait, can this mean what I think it means? Could I possibly be alive? There's a note left on the floor. I carefully walk towards it, hoping this isn't some kind of trick of the afterlife or something. I pick it up. No burning fire or anything yet. The note shocks me a little. _Hey sis, _it says, _thought you deserved a second chance. Don't waste it. Warren. P.S. Never forget that I love you, no matter what._ This makes me smile. I never thought I'd be able to manage warm feelings for Warren again. We'd been fighting for so long. But soon enough I start thinking about Alex. I remember the way I felt when she froze me, but surprisingly it didn't feel like anger. It was more like pain, mixed with a little regret. She was really the one real friend that I had and my revolution came between us. That felt terrible.

I decide to start making a mental list of things I have to do. First, I need a job or something. I have to do something that doesn't involve magic powers and I don't think I can go back to school. Alex and her family are there, as well as Harper. If they find out I'm still alive right now, there'll be trouble. I don't want to forget about Alex entirely, but I can't face her right now and ask her to forgive me. I'll find her in a few years or something. I can't stay here either or I'll be discovered. Okay, I should go home. Warren's the only person who I know is on my side right now. I don't know why he didn't stay here to greet me, but I know he'll help me. I head out of the room, but realize I have no idea how to get there. _Someone, _I beg in my head, _please help me. _I know that of all people I probably have no right to ask for help, but apparently someone is willing to give it, because I can feel myself being flashed out.

"Welcome back little sis," a voice says.

"Warren?" I ask, glancing around groggily. Being flashed somewhere always takes it out of me, unless of course I'm the one doing it. I'm definitely home. "Thank you," I say to him, "For saving me, I mean."

"Hey, you're my sister," he says, "What was I going to do. Leave you there?"

"Well, some people would have said that was the smart thing to do," I tell him.

"I guess I'm not smart then," he says with a grin, "You want anything to drink?"

"Drink?" I ask, "Umm…a Coke I guess. So where are mom and dad?"

"Wizard world business," Warren says, "Very hush-hush. I don't really know what's going on."

"Those two are always off somewhere," I comment, "So I guess that means this is your place for now."

"That's one way of looking at it," he says with a laugh, "So make yourself at home."

"Thanks," I tell him, "Hey, do you have a current newspaper?"

"Oh yeah," he says, picking up one from the table and tossing it to me. I open it and start looking through the personal ads. As soon as I can find work of some kind, I can get everything back on track.


	2. Chapter One: Four Years Later

Chapter One: Four Years Later

(Alex's POV)

This painting is going to be amazing as soon as I get it on canvas. Let's see, I've got the charcoal sketches right here, so all I need is to choose the colors. Let's see, I've got sunset and waves, so I definitely need red, yellow, blue, and white. Time to check my supply of paints, so I take a quick look. Ah man, I'm out of cadmium red. It makes the best sunset colors. Apparently I'm also out of cadmium yellow. No orange without those two. I better go to my favorite art supply store. I'm there so often that I'm on a first name basis with the owner. It's kind of a small place, but it has a certain charm to it that even I can't deny. I head out the door, making sure to recast the protection spell on my house before going. Wouldn't want anyone breaking in. Yeah, that's right, I have magic but I'm hanging out in the mortal world. Guess even at age 20, I'm still a rebel. I laugh a little at that.

The art supply store is only a little ways away from my place. It's very convenient, which is just another reason I like it. It's a short walk, which I enjoy. Rosa, the owner, greets me with her usual smile when I walk in the door.

"Hey there Alex," Rosa says, "What can I do for you?"

"I ran out of Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow," I tell her, "I need to paint a sunset."

"You're lucky, I just got in a fresh shipment of those," Rosa says, pointing, "They're over there."

"Thanks Rosa," I tell her as I walk over to the indicated spot. Wow, she has big tubes of it this time. Perfect. I grab a few tubes of each and head back to the counter. Rosa rings me up and I fork over some cash from my wallet. Thankfully, I am by no means a starving artist. These paintings actually sell really well, even the more generic ones. It's how I'm able to afford the payments on the house. Honestly, if my talent for art ever runs out, I'm in big trouble. Still, not much chance of that happening anytime soon. I'm lucky that way.

Well, time to head back to my place. I notice for the first time that the sun is shining today. Guess I was preoccupied with getting here that I didn't notice earlier. It's kind of nice. Still, I want to hurry back to finish the piece, so I walk a little quickly. As I'm getting back to my house, I notice someone trying to get in the door. I doubt that they can break through the security spell that I put up, but I still don't want some stranger on my property. "Hey!" I call out, "Who the heck are you?" I charge towards the person and turn them around, grabbing them by the scruff of the neck. As I catch a glimpse of the person's face, I feel an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. "Stevie?" I ask incredulously.

"You wanna let me go now Alex?" the girl answers. Definitely Stevie. The truth is, I don't really want to let her go at all, but best not to attract attention.

"How are you here?" I demand, keeping her at arm's length.

"Warren," she answers, "He saved me."

"How nice for you," I say. I don't like talking to my old friend like this, but it's going to take a lot before I can just accept her again. "So, what do you want?" I ask.

"I wanted to see you, but I couldn't get in the door," she says.

"It's a security spell," I tell her, "Only people I invite into my house can get around it."

"So are you going to invite me in or not?" she asks me

"Why don't you explain why you wanted to see me of all people," I answer, "Then I'll decide whether I trust you enough to let you in."

"I came to see you because I wanted to make things right," she tells me, sounding sincere, "I seem to remember that we were pretty good friends before the revolution. It'd be really nice to have that back."

"It's not that simple Stevie," I tell her, "Your plan for the revolution could have put a lot of innocent people in danger."

"I know that," she says evenly, "I know I messed up big time. I was selfish and I didn't think at all about the consequences of my actions. I'm sorry for that." Her apology sounds sincere, although that could be just wishful thinking. I sigh a little.

"You're welcome to come in," I tell her, "But don't think things can just go back to the way they were in an instant. Trust is an easy thing to destroy, but building it takes time and you're going to have to start from the beginning."

"I understand that," Stevie says, "Believe me, I won't mess this up. Warren used his powers to give me a second chance and I don't want to blow it."

"I'm glad to hear that," I say, opening the door for her. She walks inside carefully, taking her shoes off and leaving them by the entrance.

"This is your place?" she asks me, "It's cool."

"Thanks," I tell her, "It was what I could afford on a mildly successful artist's budget."

"Yeah, I saw some of your paintings in that gallery on 102nd street," she says, "They're really awesome. Especially that one with the skulls. It's really edgy."

"You liked that one?" I ask her as I look back on the day I painted the two animal skulls next to each other, "I've heard that a lot of people think it's creepy."

"One person's creepy is another person's awesome," she comments, "I love it."

"Well, thank you," I say modestly.

"Hey, you okay?" she asks, "Seems like you have something on your mind."

"Well, yeah," I say, "I've wanted to say this for a while. I'm sorry. I never meant for you to...you know…die."

"Don't sweat it," she answers, waving her hand dismissively, "I never held that against you."

"Well, that's good," I say, "Come on, I'll show you the painting I'm working on." I lead her upstairs to where I've been working on the painting. "No one else has seen this yet," I tell her, "You're in for a real treat." As I unveil the painting for her, her face lights up.

"It's amazing," she says, "It's gonna be another hit."

"Thanks," I tell her with a smile, "I'll show you some of my other sketches." I grab some sketches out of a drawer and show them to her.

"These are all great," she says, and we start animatedly discussing the artwork. I'm still wary of her, but for the moment it seems like she's genuinely interested in making up for what she did, so I figure I should give her a chance.


	3. Chapter Two: Catching Up

Chapter Two-Catching Up

(Alex's POV)

"So, why is a full wizard slumming in the mortal realm?" Stevie asks me.

"It's not slumming," I tell her, "I stay here because I like it. My family is here and most of the inspiration for my paintings too."

"But couldn't you get inspired by stuff in the wizard world too?" she asked.

"Sometimes I do," I answer, "But I always have to be careful about how I paint that stuff though, because I could risk wizard exposure."

"I see," she says, "I always thought magic was this big deal, but I guess that it isn't one for you is it?"

"Not really," I say, "It's helpful, but I try not to depend on it too often."

"Well, the art is obviously working out for you," she says, "Keep at it."

"Of course," I tell her, "You know, I thought we'd never get to talk like this again."

"What, you thought I'd let a little thing like dying stop me?" she says with a laugh, "But seriously, I'm glad we're talking like this and I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make up for what I did."

"Well, this is a start right here," I tell her, "So, why don't you tell me what you've been up to?"

"Sure," she says, "I got a job selling flowers. It's not the most glamorous thing, but it's a living."

"Hey, that's cool," I tell her, "Bet it's a lot of fun."

"Never a dull moment, that's for sure," she answers, "At least the customers are interesting. Last week some guy came in and picked up an order for like two hundred bouquets of flowers. "

"Wow," I say, "Must've been for a wedding or something."

"Something like that," Stevie answers, "I try not to pry too much. My boss frowns on that sort of thing."

"Well, at least you're doing okay," I tell her.

"Yeah," she says, "I never thought I'd say this, but I think losing my powers may have been the best thing that ever happened to me." I laugh a little.

"Glad to hear it," I tell her.

"Thanks," she says, "But you know, lately the job's been kind of boring. I want to do something else. Like sing at that club Ninety-Seventh street. But there's no way they'd ever give me an audition."

"You mean the Dark Sun, right?" I tell her laughing, "Well you're in luck. I can get you an audition. The owner is an old friend."

"You know the owner?" she asks me, sounding surprised, "But I heard no one ever sees her."

"Yeah, that's because she's a former vampire Stevie," I tell her, "There was a nasty incident involving a werewolf, so she can't show herself in public."

"Oh," Stevie says, seeming to understand.

"Yeah," I tell her, "Justin and I are trying to figure out a cure, but it's slow going. Still, I do have a way of contacting her."

"You'd do that for me?" she asks.

"Sure thing," I tell her, "Let me go make a call and I'll set it up."

"Thanks," she answers, "You're the greatest."

(Stevie's POV)

I can overhear Alex's conversation from my position in the living room. She's talking to someone named Juliet.

"Look Juliet," she's saying, "I know what Justin told you, but it's different now. Just give her a shot okay." There's a pause and then she says: "I know, I know, but everyone deserves a second chance. People change Juliet." Another pause, and then: "Thanks Juliet. See you then." She turns to me with a smile on her face. "It took some doing," she says, "But I managed to get you an audition."

"Doesn't sound like she was too happy about it," I answer.

"Yeah, but I managed to convince her," she says.

"I heard," I tell her, "Thanks for sticking up for me like that."  
"No sweat ," she answers, "The audition is tomorrow at three. She says not to be late."

"I won't," I tell her, then chance a look at my watch, "Whoa, speaking of being late, I have to get back home. Warren 's leaving for the wizard world soon and somebody has to watch the place."

"All right," she says, "It really was nice seeing you again Stevie."

"You too," I say with a smile, "Definitely worth the trip."

"I'll show you out," she offers.

"That's okay, I remember the way," I tell her, "See you later Alex." I turn around and find my shoes, taking the time to put them back on before heading out of the door. Today was a great day.


	4. Chapter Three: Audition

Chapter Three-Audition

(Alex's POV)

"Look I don't know about this," Justin is saying. He insisted on walking with us. "Have you already forgotten what she did?"

"No I haven't," I tell him, "But everyone deserves a second chance. How many have you given me?"

"That's different, Alex," he says, "You're family."

"And Stevie is my friend," I answer, "No argument. Besides, Juliet agreed to this. We're doing this Justin."

"Fine," Justin agrees grudgingly, "But Stevie, I'm watching you."

"I understand," Stevie says calmly.

"There's the club," I say, "Come on. Let's go in."

"All right," Stevie says, "Thanks Alex."

"No worries," I tell her, "Come on, we'd better hurry. Your audition is going to start without you." We hurry towards the club and the bouncer stops us.

"Can't let you in without some identification," he says.

"My name is Alex Russo," I tell him, "I'm here to see Juliet. We're old friends." I produce my identification and show it to him.

"Oh," he says, "She said you would come. Please come inside."

"Thank you," I answer.

"Are you really Alex Russo, the artist?" the bouncer asks, "I'm a huge fan."

"Thank you, but this isn't about me," I tell him, "This appointment is for my friend."

"Whatever you say," the bouncer answers. He leads us inside and we head through the club to a backroom. "She's in here," he says, and then turns to leave.

"Hello Alex," Juliet says to me, "So is this your friend?"

"Yeah," I tell her, "She really wants to sing at your club."

"Well, we could always use new talent," Juliet says, "Let's hear you sing, Stevie."

"All right," Stevie says, "Let me think what song I should sing." She considers for a moment and then starts singing. _"At this point in my life, though I've mostly walked in the shadows, I'm still searching for the light. Won't you put your faith in me, we both know that's what matters. If you give me a chance, I'll try. See I've been climbing stairs, but mostly stumbling down. I've been reaching high, but mostly losing ground. See I've conquered hills, but I still have mountains to climb." _She stops singing and Juliet smiled.

"That's some voice you have Stevie," she says, "Pretty good taste too. That's Tracy Chapman right?" 

"Yeah," Stevie says with an embarrassed grin, "My parents are huge Chapman fans, so I managed to get most of their songs stuck in my head growing up."  
"Well, if I may be candid, you've got one of the best singing voice I've heard since…well since I was still immortal," Juliet says with a laugh.

"Thanks," Stevie says, then does a double take, "Wait a minute, you know I used to be a wizard, don't you?"

"Alex and Justin told me all about you," Juliet says, "You don't come off as evil though." Woops. I guess that wasn't very nice. I'd normally blame Justin's big mouth, but I had said that about her too hadn't I?

"Part of a past I'd rather forget," Stevie says, "But you know, you don't seem evil either. For an ex-vampire I mean."

"Back before I lost my powers, my parents gave me a soul so I would fit in with humans," Juliet says.

"Ah," Stevie says as if that explains everything.

"Well, I think I'd be happy to hire you as a regular entertainer here," Juliet says, "I still need someone to perform on Wednesdays and Fridays."

"I'm in," Stevie says with a grin.

"All right," Juliet says, "I'll see you next Wednesday at 7:00. Don't be late."

"Got it," Stevie says, "I'll be there."

"Good," Juliet says. With that, we turn around and head out of the club.

"So," Stevie says, "I was thinking while we were in there: What If I asked Warren to help out with curing Juliet?."

"You think he would?" I ask her, since Justin apparently has elected not to talk to her.

"Yeah," Stevie says, "He'll help out with this if I have to force him to."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Justin asks, which causes me to glare at him.

"I'm just trying to make up for what I did," Stevie says, "Are you ever going to trust me?"

"Alex may be willing to forgive you, but I'm not so easily persuaded," he says, "People don't change that easily.

"Fine, don't trust me if you don't want to," Stevie says, "But Warren is trustworthy. Don't take out my mistakes on him."

"Whatever," Justin says, "I'm going home. "You two catch up whenever." Justin starts to walk off and I start to follow angrily, but Stevie starts following me.

"Don't," Stevie says, "He'll cool off. There's no need to go to any trouble over this."  
"But he shouldn't have talked to you like that," I tell her, "He should be willing to give you a second chance too."

"He'll come around," she says, "He just needs time to adjust. Him and I weren't friends before this, so this is probably just getting under his skin. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," I tell her, "I really would appreciate it if Warren helped out though. It might go a lot faster."

"Consider it done," Stevie says with a smile, "I'm happy to help."

"Cool," I say, "You know, you should probably get home. I bet Warren's waiting for you. Come on, I'll walk with you."

"Thanks," she says, "I'd appreciate the company. Usually walking home is kind of a drag. No company at all."

"Well, let's go," I tell her, "Lead the way." Stevie starts to walk off to north and I follow her.


	5. Chapter Four: Research

Chapter Four: Research

(Stevie's POV)

"So this vampire got in a fight with a werewolf and now she's lost her powers," Warren says, "You want to know if you can turn her back into a vampire. Is that pretty much it?"

"Pretty much," I answer him, "So can it be done?"

"No one's ever tried it before," he says, "But I did read once about a potion that can cure the effects of werewolf bites. Maybe it can be modified to work on vampires." He walks over to his bookshelf and starts looking through the books. "Here it is," he says, pulling a book off the shelf. He flips open to another page and starts reading. "Okay, most of these are pretty easy to get," he says, "But if I'm going to make this work for a vampire, I'm going to need some of her DNA from when she was a vampire. If you can get a strand of hair or something from before she lost her powers, it might help."

"Well, she was Justin's girlfriend for a while," I say, remembering what Alex told me, "Maybe he has something like that."

"Cool," he says, "I'll be waiting."

"Thanks Warren," I tell him, "This'll really mean a lot to Alex."

"No problem," he says, "Don't worry. Juliet will be back to her old vampiric self in no time."

"Awesome," I say, "Now go somewhere else, will you? I need to take a nap."

"Yeah sure little sis," Warren says with a laugh, "Sleep tight. I'm off to the wizard world on business."

"Don't get yourself hurt," I tell him.

"Don't worry," he says, "I can handle myself."

"Good," I tell him before closing my eyes and falling asleep.

(Alex's POV)

"Listen Justin," I tell him, "I've said this before and I'm going to say it as many times as I have to. I trust Stevie. I want to give her a second chance. Don't argue with me on this. Nothing you can say is going to make me change my mind."

"Fine," he says over the phone, "But at least promise me you'll be careful."

"All right," I answer, "I promise."

"Good," he says, "I have to go. I have homework to do. I'll talk to you later."

"Later Justin," I tell him before hanging up the phone. I decide I'll work some more on my latest painting. I got my new paints the other day, so I can finish it now. I grab one of my pallets and start putting the colors I need on it. "All right," I say to myself, "I need a little blue and white there to finish off the ocean. Then just a little orange for the sunset." I start to add the necessary colors, pausing every couple of minutes to check the painting. I do that a lot when I'm painting something from memory. After several of these, I smile. It looks really good. This is gonna be my next great painting for sure. I decide to go relax for a while, like I usually do after finishing a big painting. I head downstairs and lay down on the couch, thinking about Stevie. I wonder what she's doing now. She's probably really psyched about her audition. I can't imagine what's going on in her head right now. Maybe I should give her a call.

I start for the phone when it starts ringing. I pick it up and get surprised by the voice on the other end. "Hey Alex," Stevie says.

"Hey," I say back, "I was just about to call you? What's up?"

"Warren has an idea on how to bring back Juliet's powers," she tells me.

"Seriously?" I ask her.

"Yeah," she says, "But he says he needs some of Juliet's DNA from when she was a vampire."

"Vampiric DNA?" I ask her, "Do vampires even have DNA?"

"I don't know," she says, "But they are former humans, so maybe."

"Well if anyone would have it, it's Justin," I tell her, "He kept a bunch of her stuff after the incident. He probably has something like that. I'll ask him."

"Cool," Stevie says, "Oh hey, Warren's back. I've gotta run Alex. Talk to you later."

"Okay," I say, "Thanks for getting Warren to help out."

"Eh," she says, "It was the least I could do. Now I really have to go. See you." She hangs up on the phone and I do as well. I head back to the couch to crash out for a few hours.


	6. Chapter Five: Cure?

Chapter Five: Cure?

(Justin's POV)

"Vampire DNA?" I ask, "I don't know if there's even such a thing Alex."

"Well if you have a better idea, I'm all ears" Alex answers.

"No I guess I don't," I say, "All right, I have a box of Juliet's stuff. I'm sure there's a hairbrush in there she used to use. Maybe it has a strand of her hair."

"You know that's a little creepy right?" she asks me.

"Do you want it or not?" I ask her.

"Don't freak out Justin," she says laughing, "I'm only messing with you. I think it's kind of sweet that you keep mementos of her like that."

"Hang on, I'll go grab It," I tell her. I hurry into my bedroom and open the closet. The box is where it always is. This is one of those moments where I'm glad I'm so organized. I go through the box until I find the hairbrush in question. Looks like my hunch was right: A single strand of blonde hair is stuck between the bristles. Now I just have to hope that vampires really do have DNA. I run down the stairs and hand the brush to Alex. "There's a strand of Juliet's hair in there," I tell her, "If anything is going to contain Juliet's DNA, it'll be that."

"Great," Alex says, "I'll take it to Warren as soon as I can. Let's hope that this works."

"Yeah," I say, "To think, Juliet might actually get her powers back. That'd be awesome."

"Yeah in a way," Alex answers, "Well, I'd better hurry. Warren says he needs to get this into the potion as soon as it's ready. He's working on it right now, so I'd better move it."

"Good luck," I tell her. I'm still not entirely sure about this plan, but it's the only plan in town right now.

(Alex's POV)

I'm moving as fast as I can. I'd rather just flash in, but Warren put the same defensive spell on his house that I did, so that's not an option. Figured that one out the hard way. Oh well, at least I'm getting a workout. It takes about fifteen minutes to run from here to Stevie's house. Good thing she thought ahead and told me the address. Out of breath, I knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Stevie's voice calls out.

"Alex," I answer, "I got a sample of Juliet's DNA."

"Oh," Stevie says, hurrying to the door and opening it, "Come in." I smile and walk through the door. "Warren's working on the potion down in the basement. He says he's almost done. Follow me." She quickly leads me downstairs, where Warren is standing over a cauldron.

"Hey Alex," he greets me, "You're just in time. Do you have the last ingredient?"

"Yep," I say, "One strand of Juliet Van Heusen's hair from when she was a vampire."

"Perfect," Warren says, taking the strand of hair off the brush and dropping it in the cauldron. "All right," he says, "Finished. Now all we have to do is bring it to Juliet."

"I'll take it to her on the day of my first preformance," Stevie says, "It'll be my way of sucking up." She laughs a little.

"Stevie, you don't have to suck up to Juliet," I tell her, "She likes you and she loved your singing. You'll be just fine."

"You really think so?" she says.

"Hey, you may not know this, but I sang too when I was in high school," I tell her, "I know what good singing sounds like and you'll be fine."

"Cook," she says, "Thanks Alex."

"No problem," I tell her, "Hey, you want to go out for ice cream or something?"

"Sure," Stevie says.

"Don't be out too late," Warren says.

"Yeah yeah," Stevie says, "Come on, let's go." We both run upstairs and head out through the kitchen door. I can already taste the sugar and cream. Delicious.


	7. Chapter Six: First Performance

Chapter Six: First Performance

(Stevie's POV)

"So this is the thing that's supposed to cure me?" Juliet asks me, looking at the potion

"We hope," I answer, "My brother Warren came up with it. He's a bit of a know it all, but he's good at this kind of thing."

"Well come on Juliet," Alex says, "Try out the potion."

"All right, here it goes," Juliet says, opening the potion bottle and swallowing the contents.

"Feel anything?" I ask her.

"Nothing yet," she says, "But give it a couple of minutes."

"Juliet, your hair!" Alex says.

"What about it?" Juliet asks.

"It's turning blonde," Alex says. I take a look at her hair and realize Alex is right.

"Seriously?" Juliet asks excitedly.

"Yeah," I answer, "I can see it too. You're face is changing too."

"I'm turning into a vampire again," Juliet says grinning, "This is awesome. Your brother is a genius. Thank you so much for this Stevie."

"Hey, it's nothing," I answer, "The least I could do."

"It's not nothing," she says, "It's probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Well don't gush over it too long," I tell her lightly, "I have to go out and perform in a few minutes."

"Right," Juliet says, "I'd better go introduce you." She hurries out to the stage area. "Hey everyone," she says, "Okay, so most have you have probably never seen me before, but I'm Juliet Van Heusen. I own the place. But enough about me. It's good to see that there's a big crowd, because we have a new singer performing tonight. It's her first show, so try to go easy on her. Now, everyone, give a big round of applause for Stevie Nichols."

"You ready?" Alex asks me.

"Nervous," I says, "But ready as I'll ever be."

"You want me to go out there with you?" she asks me, "I can back you up on vocals."

"That's not necessary," she says, "I'll be fine."

"So what are you gonna sing?" Alex asks

"Well, Tracy Chapman was a hit with Juliet, but I thought I'd try something with a little more style for this crowd," I answer, "I've decided to sing Hollowman by Trapt."

"Awesome," Alex says, "Now hurry up and get out there."

"All right," I say stepping out onto the stage and taking the mic, "Hey guys. Juliet was right. This a big crowd tonight. So I guess I'd better not disappoint." The band starts to play the song, just like we agreed. It's so cool that Juliet was able to put together an actual band and teach them the song I wanted. She's pretty awesome for a vampire.

"I can't remember," I sing, "The last time you cared about anything, the last time you allowed yourself to be seen. So pretentious your lies, unrelenting disguise creating tears in your eyes, your mind withers and dies pretending to be something you are not somewhere in the middle you are now caught, you've never seen who you really are." The crowd is really getting into it, which makes me feel happy. All right Stevie, keep calm, stay in the song.

"No life breathes in you, all the time you laugh you wait you cry, no part of your life is true, all the time your life passes you by. The last time you cared about anything, the last time you allowed yourself to be seen, so pretentious your lies, unrelenting disguise creating tears in your eyes, your mind withers and dies, pretending to be something you are not, somewhere in the middle you are now caught , you've never seen who you really are. I don't ever wanna see, I don't ever wanna be like you hollowman. I don't care what you give hollowman you can't live like this. I don't ever wanna see, I don't ever wanna be like you, hollowman. I don't care what you give, hollowman you can't live like this." The crowd really loves this. All right, final verse before another round of choruses.

"Your voice is just a whisper, you call upon your blank thoughts as you try to fit in where you missed her, you missed the chance to stop living a lie," I sing before heading into the final round of choruses. When the song finishes, the whole crowd is screaming their approval.

"That was awesome," Alex says, running out on the stage, "You rocked Stevie!"

"Thanks," I tell her, "That was so much fun."

"Well, I guess you passed the final audition," Juliet says, "The crowd loves you. Next time you come, I want you to bring a full set of songs."

"Seriously?" I ask her.

"Seriously," Juliet says, "That was the most awesome performance I've seen since Descartes tried to play the flute."

"Descartes played the flute?" Alex asks. I'm surprised she even knows who Descartes is.

"Yeah, he wasn't very good, but it _was_ funny," Juliet says, "Anyway, congratulations Stevie. You earned this job."

"Cool," I say, "Hey Alex, let's go out and celebrate."

"Awesome, I know this great place in the wizard world," she says, "All the greasy fried food you could ever want."

"Umm, Alex, I'm a mortal. I'm not allowed in the wizard world," I remind her.

"You are if you're with a wizard," she says, "And since you're an ex-wizard, I wouldn't be breaking the Wizard Exposure rule."

"Well…all right," I say, "Hey speaking of wizards, you never did tell me what happened to the revolution after I broke into pieces."

"Oh," Alex says, "A bunch of wizards tried to cast the spell anyway and most of them ended up arrested by the wizard council."

"The actual wizard council showed up?" I ask, "In person?"

"Yeah," she answers, "It really freaked me out."

"Do you think they're still looking for me?" I ask her, hating how scared I sound.

"I wouldn't worry about that," she says, "Come on, let's go." She holds out her hand and I grab it. As we flash out of the club, one thought crosses my mind: _Best day of my life._

(End of Story)

**A/N: Shorter story than I originally planned, but I think that pretty much wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
